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Alabama Babies
mrssamuels2b
member
Sleeping and feeding issues(long)
mrssamuels2b
member
Preston was a great sleeper until around 3.5 months and then began waking up at least a couple times a night...this has continued...here we are at 6+ months and he is still only STTN maybe once every couple weeks. I mentioned it to his pedi and he said that giving his weight and growth he sees no real reason why he is waking up and that CIO may be an option...it doesn't help that sometimes, out of frustration, when he cries we will put him in the bed with us. I.NEED.SLEEP! I am totally open to suggestions...Sarah, what is the name of that book you mentioned before?
Also, we were given the green light to begin experimenting with solids at 4 months...the first time we gave him anything he ate like a champ...we would only give him something every few days as we were just testing the waters...he has now gotten to the point where he refuses to take anything from a spoon...he will even tighten his lips in protest...the only exception is if we put the food on the spoon and give it to him and even then I am not sure if he is truly eating or just using the spoon to soothe his gums...with the pedi's blessing(due to reflux type-issues), we have been slowly adding cereal to his formula since around 4 months(first at night, then we adding the morning bottle and so on)...he will take the cereal from the bottle but will not take the same cereal from a spoon...I know that it is not a must that he has solids at the point but I want him to at least be open to the spoon...I must add that whenever we eat he is almost taking the food from our plates but when we try to give him some he will not take it. The pedi suggests continuing to offer the food and just waiting it out...Again, I am totally open to suggestions...your thought?
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Re: Sleeping and feeding issues(long)
The name of the book Sarah suggests is Secrets of the Baby Whisperer. She recommended it to me and I read it and followed it, it worked wonders for us but it was not an automatic fix to make her STTN unfortunately. I have learned that babies control that and there is nothing we can truly do to make them STTN. The book did help us to be able to read her cues really well though so I could figure out a lot faster what she needed and we could all get back to sleep. But I will say this whereas Aubrey got to where she'd only wake up once in the night she didn't truly STTN until roughly 9 and a half months. She always woke up more if she was sick or teething...especially teething.
I don't really have any food advice for you, we got lucky in that department. Hopefully the other ladies will be able to help you out there.
Hang in there...you will eventually get sleep again...that's what I always tell myself
1) Feeding - let him have his own spoon and play - also buy different spoons to experiment with. He may not WANT cereal - have you tried other purees? Avery never had cereal - her first food was butternut squash.
I also found that the more I fuss, even today, the less Avery eats. are you comfortable with possibly some finger foods? like puffs or cheerios? give those to him while you're trying to feed him and let him play. he might just be getting stressed because you're getting stressed.
2) Sleep...oye... The secrets of the baby whisperer was AWESOME for us as a newborn but around 6 months - it sort of went to heck. I would have to feed Avery before bed (even though the book says not to). One of the books I'm considering for us now is the "no cry sleep solution - Toddler version" because Avery is getting harder to get to sleep (but will STTN once she's down). There is a "baby" version of the book too. I don't necessarily believe in CIO either so I know how hard it is with bed time struggles - I have been lucky that we haven't had too many difficulties.
When he wakes up in the night - what do you do? We would soothe Avery by picking her up, rocking her without saying a word and then put her back in her crib. If she wet herself in the middle of the night, we'd change her but not say anything or any lights on. I know we ended up with her in our bed a few nights but I also know she prefers her own space. Maybe you'll need to teach him that the crib is where he'll end up - no matter what?
Also - does he like blankets or loveys??? I have never been a freak about that stuff and Avery always slept better with a blanket.
I have tried apples sauce, bananas, squash, peas, sweet potatoes, etc...nothing seems to do the trick. I am open to trying the puffs and cheerios...When he wakes up, I initially try to see if he will go back to sleep on his own. If he doesn't I will go in and rub his head(he likes it)...if he continues to cry I will try a couple ounces while in the rocker...if this does not work I will usually go ahead and put him in our bed....he usually goes straight to sleep once in our bed
No blankets or loveys...
Sorry you are experiencing this. I know all too well how you feel. Mitchell's STTN thing always and still does go down the tube when he's teething and recently when he was sick. I have the No Cry Sleep Solution for babies and have had some success with it so I believe the methods work. I'm considering getting the one for toddlers like Sarah as well. It mostly ends up getting messed up on days where like you, I just want to sleep so I just bring him to bed with us where he promptly passes out.
He still doesn't go to sleep on his own - but that's again largely due to the fact that we are inconsistent with the "training".
You will sleep again though! Good luck!
ok, we co-sleep, so i am approaching this from a different perspective, but have you tried putting him in your bed from the beginning? i'm not sure if you're opposed to co-sleeping, but it may be that he's scared or having separation anxiety. like i mentioned, we have been co-sleeping from day 1, it's definitely not for everyone, but it's been the best option for us. we all get the max amount of rest. J does wake up every 2 hrs or so to nurse, but he's never really fully awake (they call it "dream feeding"). he will usually start moving around (and swinging his arm in my face), and i know that's the signal that he's hungry, so i'll whip my girls out and nurse him and fall back to sleep. since he still nurses frequently, i couldn't imagine having to get up and walk over to his crib (even though we co-sleep, we still have a crib for him in our room to transition him to later on) to feed him. i would never get any sleep.
anyway, again, i know co-sleeping is not for everyone, but just thought i would mention that as a suggestion.
good luck!
You may also try sleeping with one of his blankets or putting one of your tshirts in the crib. he is associating your bed with the comforts of mom and dad. Something to consider/try.